MDH Wound Care Provides Specialty Care to Help & Heal
The trio behind McDonough District Hospital’s (MDH) Wound Care Clinic provide numerous services to their many patients to help them heal and get on their way to better health.
However, the nurses provide much more than just medical care … they provide hope.
Jennifer Bollinger, Jennifer Henson and Elizabeth Smith run the Wound Care Clinic, which provides comprehensive wound ostomy services, both in- and out-patient, with Bollinger and Smith both serving as certified wound ostomy nurses and Henson on her way to achieving her certification in podiatry wound care. These specialists within MDH’s specialty department collaborate with doctors and other health care professionals to develop a comprehensive care plan for patients with open wounds and ostomies (a surgically created opening in the body, typically on the abdomen, that allows waste to be diverted from its usual pathway). It’s a job that isn’t necessarily for the faint of heart, Bollinger explained; however, she, along with her colleagues, found it was their calling.
“I was actually an acute care nurse when I met a nurse, who is now retired, who was showing me how to use a wound vac. I was fascinated because it was like a puzzle, so it really challenged me professionally and I found I really enjoyed that,” Bollinger, who has been with the clinic since 2017, shared. “Every wound is different and every patient is different, and I really liked that part of the job too. I really fell into this, and it turned out, wound care is my niche.”
Henson and Smith have similar stories on how they came to the third-floor clinic, which shares space with Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Services on the MDH campus. Henson was actually hired as the clinic’s front desk receptionist in 2019. During her down time, she’d help clean the rooms, and her colleagues, Bollinger and Phyllis McLouth, talked her into going back to school to get her nursing degree. She first was a medical assistant, then a licensed practical nurse and is now an RN. She started full-time at the clinic at the end of 2019. Smith, who has been at MDH for 22 years was, like Bollinger, working in acute care first. There she would work alongside surgeons assisting with dressing changes, so she had her first exposure to wound care during her stint in the ICU. After COVID, Smith needed a change, and there was an opening in wound care following Carolyn Grove’s retirement. And with that, she joined the two Jennifers, working daily to make a difference.
“We really like that we get to make a connection with our patients,” Henson added. “Some we might see two or three times a week, for eight or nine months. We’re here for them every step of the way.”
In addition to seeing patients in the clinic, the trio will assist in surgery, they’ll get called to the ER, they work with convenient care patients, they visit patients in their hospital rooms and they assist with case management prior to a patient’s discharge. As they said, they jump in wherever they’re needed. According to all three, not everyone is equipped to work in wound care as it can get “graphic,” and they might see things they never dreamt of seeing, even though they are nurses.
“You’re really either born to do it or you’re not,” Smith said.
And as Bollinger and Henson added, they have to be brave for their patients and do the very best they can for everyone who comes through their doors.
“People who come to see us may have a very minor issue or a major issue that we have to treat. We don’t want them to feel bad and we don’t ever want anyone to feel embarrassed for being here. We treat our patients as a whole person, not just as ‘someone who has a wound,’” Bollinger stressed.
Henson also pointed out that some people may not have anyone else in their corner to help them, so the three of them will do whatever it takes to advocate and care for a patient.
“We’re their person,” she said. As they stated before, no wound is the same, and through their network of representatives and companies, working in concert with the hospital’s purchasing department, they’ll research, call and research some more to ensure they’re getting the best equipment, supplies or product that will work for that individual. They also attend numerous trainings and seminars throughout the year to keep up on best practices, new products and trends in the industry. Bollinger, Henson and Smith recently attended a lymphedema course to become better equipped to handle patients battling wounds as a result of fluid retention.
“I think that’s what sets us apart from other wound care clinics. We have direct access to our reps, and we also don’t ‘kick’ people out after seeing them once,” Bollinger said. “If we need to see someone two or three times a week to care for their wound, we will. If we need to try a few things before we settle on something that will work for our patient, we will.”
And at the end of the day, in spite of what can sometimes be a grisly job, what matters most is that their patients are healed and happy to get back to their regular lives.
“We may see some things can be pretty horrible and very debilitating,” they agreed. “But solving their problem, achieving success in treatment and getting them back to their lives is what makes it all worth it. We will find what they need to heal.”
Patients to MDH’s Wound Care Clinic are often referred to the clinic; however, if someone believes they are in need of care, they can contact the clinic directly at (309) 836-1634 to discuss options for referral and care. The team treats burns, venous ulcers, ostomies/ stomas and other open wounds, and provides post-surgical care for caesarean sections, skin cancer removal, drains, catheter insertions and more. The clinic is open from 8 a.m.4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.
